


Better Than Before

by siyooratrash



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Exes to Lovers, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Romantic Comedy, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:54:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28657551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siyooratrash/pseuds/siyooratrash
Summary: After a few years abroad, Bora comes back home to start her own marketing company.Everything's going fine until she accidentally hires her ex's roommate as her assistant.
Relationships: Kim Bora | SuA/Lee Siyeon, Kim Yoohyeon/Lee Siyeon
Comments: 14
Kudos: 98





	1. Welcome back, Bora

**Author's Note:**

> I'm super excited with this new fic! It's so chill compared to what I usually write it's healing. That doesn't mean it will get boring, tho 👀 Get ready for a lot of misunderstandings and tense situations. Enjoy!! It's gonna be a fun ride <333

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bora comes back home after a long time abroad. She has a lot to catch up on.

Monday morning. Bora picks up her suitcase from the baggage claim. It’s heavy. And although a kind man offers her help, she rejects it. She brings with her the last five years of her life, and that’s a weight she wants to carry herself. 

Outside, a blonde woman looks for her. So pretty, Bora can notice a few quick gazes from the people around her checking her friend out. She can’t help it, that’s the Kim Minji effect.

“Bora!” The blonde waves at her with the brightest of smiles on her face.

There’s too many people blocking her way, but even so, she runs to hug her. They’ve been apart for too long, once their bodies touch holding back the tears is mission impossible. Bora seizes the height difference and buries her face in her friend’s chest, leaving her shirt soaked in tears.

Neither of them care.

“I’ve missed you so much!!” Bora squeezes her friend, almost leaving her breathless.

“Me too.”

She can’t see her, but the brunette is certain that her friend is pouting as she leans her chin on her head.

Now that she’s relaxed in her arms, Bora can feel the accumulated exhaustion from the long flight. She has barely slept in the last few days, and her body cries for a bed.

“Please, tell me you brought the car.” She says, unable to hide the fatigue in her voice.

Minji giggles. “You know me.”

When Bora lets herself fall on the passenger’s seat, her eyelids grow heavy.

A long sigh leaves her lips. Every building looks familiar, yet so different. All the memories she has from the city are stained with the remembrance of Siyeon. Those are the streets they used to walk holding hands, those are the same restaurants where they had their first encounters. And that’s the comic shop they used to go to every weekend.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Minji says, eyes fixed to the road. She stops at a red light and looks at her friend. “Don’t.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Bora makes herself comfortable on her seat, yawning as she looks away to stare at a couple of little birds drinking from a puddle. She smiles, birds always give her peace.

“I saw you scrolling through her Twitter at the elevator.” Minji raises an eyebrow.

Busted.

The brunette closes her eyes, trying to find an excuse. Obviously, she has none.

“Did you tell her you were coming back?”

Bora shakes her head, biting her lower lip. She knows Minji has seen her with the verge of her eye, there’s no need to speak out her answer.

The older woman puts a hand on her leg and squeezes it gently. “Whatever you do, don’t hurt yourself, okay?” She briefly glances at her before stepping on the accelerator again. “Take things easy.”

The brunette keeps the answer to herself. She can’t promise such a thing.

Back in the day, she made a mistake. One she could have solved just by picking up the phone, but she was too stubborn. They both were.

“How are things at the office?” She changes the subject. “Everything ready?”

Minji can’t hide her smile when it comes to their new project. “Yes, Gahyeon and I have almost everything ready. She’s great, by the way, you’re gonna love her.” She says, excited.

“Where did you find her, again?” Bora raises her brow with a mocking smirk on her face.

“She’s not a random hookup, okay??” Minji frowns, hitting Bora’s leg as she bites her lip with an exaggerated rageful expression. “I’m not making that mistake again.” The younger woman starts laughing, which makes her inevitable smile back. “She’s a friend.” She feels Bora’s judgmental gaze on her. “Of a friend.”

The brunette chuckles. “Sure.”

“I swear!” Minji laughs and hits her friend one more time. Bora raises an eyebrow. “Fine! She’s Yongsun’s friend.”

Bora lets out a loud laugh. “You asked your ex for advice?”

“I was desperate, okay?” Minji whines, pouting. “And things between us are good now.”

“One week and you’ll be in her bed again.” Bora teases.

Minji shakes her head with conviction. “No, thanks. Not doing that again.”

Bora smirks. “She’s hot, though.”

It feels so good to be back. Minji can be a mess sometimes, especially when it comes to her own love life. But she’s always been there by her side, even at her worst. Without her advice, Bora would’ve probably gone wild and never finished her studies abroad.

Minji giggles. “Sometimes  _ hot  _ is not enough. Yongsun’s era is over, I promise.”

Bora sighs as pats her friend’s leg. “I believe you.”

“We still need someone else, right?” Bora eases her tone, her stomach is starting to ache from the laughter. “For the office.”

“Yeah, I posted the job offer yesterday, check it.” Minji says, proud of herself as she gives Bora her phone. “I wish we could pay more, though.” She clicks her tongue.

“We will, eventually.” Bora reassures her, scrolling through the screen. “Shit…”

“What?” Minji asks, tempted to look away from the road to pay attention to her friend.

“We got a job application.” Bora squints, making sure she’s reading the right information.

“Really? I checked last night before going to bed, there was nothing.”

“Kim Yoohyeon.” Bora reads out loud. “Sounds familiar…” She glances at Minji for a clue, who shrugs. “She has a nice resume.”

“Tell her to meet soon.” 

Bora chuckles, frowning. “You didn’t even hear a thing about her.”

“So? Are there any more candidates?” Minji gestures to reinforce her question.

The brunette raises an eyebrow. “Nope…”

“Then, answer her.” Minji replies as if it’s obvious.

“Okay, captain.” Bora smirks at the phone, biting her lip. She can’t hide how excited she is for their new project. She’s writing an actual serious email, as a business woman.

The blonde smiles at her. Not even a year has passed since they had the crazy idea of starting their own marketing business. Minji was hungover the day she asked for the loan at the bank, barely hopeful to receive a positive answer. So when they got the approval email they took it as a sign. They were certain, Somnia Marketing had to become a reality.

* * *

Yoohyeon looks at her own reflection in the mirror as she yawns. She looks like shit.

Two months have gone by since they fired her from the bar for refusing to serve a table to a bunch of homophobes.

At first they didn’t care much, but as time went by, Siyeon’s salary was no longer enough to pay the bills. Plus, the TV broke, and their laptop is at its last moments. There’s nothing Yoohyeon hates more than feeling useless, and as much as her housemate insists that they have more than enough savings for at least a couple of months more, the silver haired spends her days looking for new job offers. Every morning she wakes up to a bunch of rejection emails that ruin her good mood for the rest of the day.

She goes back to the living room, where Siyeon is writing on the couch with the laptop, with their dog sitting by her side.

“Morning!” She smiles at her. If there’s anything that makes Yoohyeon forget about everything that’s wrong in the world, that’s Siyeon’s smile. “There’s hot coffee if you want some.”

“Not yet, I need to wake up first.” She lets herself fall onto the couch, right next to Siyeon.

The black haired giggles. “That’s what coffee is for, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Yoohyeon replies, as she grabs Siyeon’s arm to cuddle her. The other woman doesn’t flinch, cuddling is basically a routine for them. The dog barks. “Ssshh, Pie! Come here.” The animal runs to Yoohyeon’s lap.

“Any news?” The older woman asks, not looking away from the screen.

Yoohyeon sighs. She unlocks her phone to find a bunch of notifications she doesn’t care about. Then, she opens the email.

Rejection, rejection, reje-

_ Dear, Ms. Kim. _

_ We are interested in your job application. Therefore, we want to let you know that we would love to meet you at our office for an interview. _

_ Wednesday at 1pm is ok for you? Please, confirm in a separate email. _

_ Jiu & SuA - Somnia Marketing  _

Yoohyeon repeatedly pats Siyeon’s arm. “I got an interview…” She says, in an almost inaudible voice. 

“What?” Siyeon frowns. In that moment, a  _ Game Over _ appears on bold letters at the screen. Now Yoohyeon has her full attention.

“I got an interview!” She repeats looking at her, so excited she still can’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. “I literally sent this application at 4am because I was bored, what the fuck??”

The biggest of smiles draws on Siyeon’s face. “You did?” She drops the laptop on the table and hugs her tight. “I knew it!!! I had a feeling for today.” She kisses her head, and Pie gets up to do the same.

Yoohyeon laughs. “Get off me!” She says, but that only makes the other woman kiss her even more. Pie barks.

She gets rid of her eventually, by tickling her on the belly. “Nonononoo!” Siyeon begs.

When they get to see their faces again, both of them are disheveled and so close they can feel each other's bated breaths on their skin.

“You got this.” Siyeon puts a hand on Yoohyeon’s arm, speaking to her with a low toned voice. So attractive the silver haired is about to lose her mind.

_ I definitely don’t. _ She thinks.

They stare at each other for a couple of seconds, in silence. And slowly, Siyeon moves her hand, running it along the other woman’s arm until they don’t make contact anymore.

Yoohyeon feels her heart beat so fast it could leave her chest at any moment.

“I have to go to Yubin’s” Siyeon says, glancing at Yoohyeon’s parted lips.

“So early?” There’s a clear disappointment in the younger woman’s face. She was hoping to spend some time together. “Won’t you see her later at work?”

“Yeah...” The latter clicks her tongue. “But she got this new graphic tablet, Handong likes to draw too so she convinced her to buy one.”

“She’s finally gonna draw your comic?”

Siyeon bites her lip, nodding excited.

“That’s great!” Yoohyeon is genuinely happy for her. Siyeon has been talking about that project since she met her four years ago, but she never got the means to bring it to life.

“Wanna come with me? Handong has been asking for you.”

“No, it’s fine, I’ll see her later anyway.” She caresses Siyeon’s arm, which she instantly regrets.

The other woman wets her lips, tense. Then, she clears her throat. “Yeah, well.” She chuckles. “Gotta go. See you tonight?”

“Sure.” Yoohyeon nods, looking at Pie as if nothing happened.

  
  


* * *

“Are you going to tell her?” Handong sips from her cup of flower tea, covering half of her face with her long red hair.

Yoohyeon nods.

The café is quiet today, the usual for a Monday. The barista smiles at Yoohyeon, and she kindly smiles back. She is a regular customer. A cute one. The woman has hit on her a couple of times, but the silver haired never flirted back. Her head and heart is already full of Siyeon, it has been that way for a long time and it’s becoming unbearable.

“Did you plan something special?”

The red haired looks at her distracted friend, who shrugs.

“If I get this job maybe I could take her somewhere. There’s a comic expo this weekend.” Yoohyeon moves the spoon from her empty drink, focusing her stare on the coffee grounds.

She hears Handong giggling. “So romantic.”

“C’mon as if you wouldn’t love it.” Yoohyeon smiles shyly, raising her eyes with a mocking expression.

“I will not talk without a lawyer.” Handong jokes, putting her hand over Yoohyeon’s right after. “I’m sure she’d say yes even if you tell her on a pizza movie night.” She sounds reassuring, but Yoohyeon can’t help but to click her tongue.

“I hope so…”

“Look, I’ve never talked with Siyeon about it, but I see the way she looks at you. There’s something there.” She takes another sip.

Yoohyeon is about to protest, but Handong interrupts. “And even if she doesn’t feel the same, she still loves you. I don’t think you would lose her either way.”

“I guess…” Yoohyeon swallows. As much as her friend tries to comfort her, she has never been more scared.

At age 26, Yoohyeon has never felt this way for anyone before. Not like she’s dated much either, studies and work had her busy for a long time. But all of her past relationships never lasted more than a few months. Some were so brief she doesn’t even count them as such.

When she met Siyeon, everything changed. She found someone she connected with, someone to share her days with, someone who doesn’t judge her. It was too late to back off when she realized she had deeper feelings than just friendship.

“I don’t wanna fuck it up, Dong.”

* * *

Siyeon sighs at the sight of twelve huge comic boxes she has yet to organize. Today is role play games day, so she can’t get Yubin’s help. Her friend and coworker is upstairs, too busy dealing with the most demanding group they’ve ever met. Siyeon can hear them yelling nonsense from the stockroom. Suddenly, struggling with boxes sounds more than good.

Before work, they had a good day. For their first time, they actually made progress with their comic project. Both know what they want, and how they want it. It has always been like that with them. At school, they used to get kicked out of class for talking too much.

The black haired opens the first box, full of the last number of the Captain Marvel comic. She picks one of them and starts reading, she’s been waiting for it just like any other client.

Soon, the light from the stockroom starts hurting her eyes, so she goes back to the shop the same moment the bell rings, announcing the arrival of a new customer.

She can’t see who it is yet, the counter is a couple of shelves away.

“Hi, can I help…?” She freezes the moment their eyes meet. “You.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I tell you this is going to be fun, I mean it. Be ready for the mess that's about to come 👀
> 
> See you in the next chapter, I'll try to update as often as possible! <3


	2. What happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Siyeon is upset. Yoohyeon listens. Bora overthinks. Minji is tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter!! I'm enjoying the path of the story, I hope you will too <33 Slowly but surely!!

Yoohyeon holds Pie’s toy. The pomerania groans as she pulls to steal it. The woman can’t help but laugh at such a small animal trying to look fierceful.

She remembers well the day she adopted her. Maybe it wasn’t a nice detail not telling Siyeon about her impulse plan, but her housemate never seemed to care about it. After all, rare was the day they didn’t fantasize about raising a dog together. The apartment felt empty without a ball of fur running around.

The sound of Siyeon’s key turning in the lock distracts the animal. She releases the toy and runs to the door to welcome her.

Something’s off, though. She doesn’t greet Pie the way she always does. And the groan she lets out when she almost drops her coat while trying to hang it indicates how upset she really is. Yoohyeon has barely seen her like that. Whatever happened, it must have been bad.

“Everything okay?” Yoohyeon asks the obvious question, sitting up on the couch to pay attention to her friend.

Siyeon sighs, tired after a long day of work. “Yes. No.” She corrects herself as she takes off her scarf. “I don’t know.”

“Wanna… talk about it?” Yoohyeon gets up and takes Pie into her arms. Then, she puts the dog's face next to Siyeon’s cheek and mimics the sound of a kiss. The other woman laughs, but she still sounds annoyed. “What is it?” Yoohyeon says in a softer tone.

She bites her lip, holding her desire to caress Siyeon’s face. She hates seeing her like that.

The black haired puffs, shrugging as she clicks her tongue. “Remember Bora?”

That name triggers unpleasant memories in Yoohyeon. Too many nights holding Siyeon in her arms as she cried to sleep. “Your ex?” 

Siyeon nods. “She came to the shop.”

“What?” Yoohyeon frowns in confusion. “I thought she lived in Europe.”

The older woman lets out a sarcastic laugh. “Same.”

Yoohyeon is about to make another question, but Siyeon finally explodes. “Not even a text, Yoohyeon! Was it that hard?  _ Hiii, I’m back! Would you mind if I go to the comic shop we always went to? I never asked, so I don't know if you work there now. _ ” She imitates her voice.

Yoohyeon lets Pie walk free to keep listening to her ranting. “And you know the worst??” The silver haired shakes her head. “She left! Just like that. She didn’t even dare to say hi. The moment she saw me,  _ bam! _ Gone.” She claps her hands to emphasize her words. 

Siyeon goes from one side of the room to another, letting out everything she’s kept to herself since she left work. Yubin saw her so upset she offered to walk her home so she could rant for a while, but she refused.  _ I have Yoohyeon _ ,  _ don’t worry.  _ She told her.

Yoohyeon. She’s the one who supported her the most when Bora and her decided to break up. Sometimes during that time, Siyeon felt bad for not having another conversation topic. But the younger woman made everything easier. The warmth of her arms made it easier.

In fact, she seems to read her mind the moment she pulls her in for a hug.

“Just when I thought…” Siyeon says, sinking her head into her chest. Yoohyeon looks at her, curious for what she’s about to say. But the older woman sighs and plays down her thoughts. “Nevermind…”

“It’s okay, say what you want.” The silver haired reassures her.

“It’s nothing serious… Just… That I thought I was over her…” She holds Yoohyeon tighter.

“But you’re not.” The silver haired completes the sentence, feeling her heart break as she speaks. But not as much as when Siyeon nods. 

* * *

_ “You couldn’t just stay home, huh?” _

_ “I told you not to go!” _ Minji’s voice scolds her on the other side of the phone.

“You didn’t!” Bora protests, getting nothing but silence as a reply. She groans. “Look, I don’t know what I was thinking, but…-”

“ _ Yeah, it shows. _ ” Minji sighs. “ _ You arrived today, Bora. Today!! I thought you were going to take a long nap and not be the impulsive ass you always are.” _

_ “ _ Me too.” Bora pours some wine she bought as she walked back home on a cup.

_ “I let you alone for three hours.”  _ Bora rolls her eyes as she listens.  _ “And what do you do? Visit your ex.” _ She lets out a sarcastic laugh. The younger woman breathes in loudly, and Minji eases her tone. “ _ I think you should call her. Or text her, whatever. Explain what happened.” _

“Sure.” Bora says, with irony.

“ _ You know my opinion, do whatever you want with it.” _ Minji tries not to sound upset, but the Siyeon topic always bothers her. 

Before Bora left abroad, she always insisted they should try and accept the long distance relationship. And they listened to her, at least for a year.

When Bora told her they broke up, the first thing her friend did was scolding her. To calm her down, Bora explained they decided to stay as friends so whenever she came back -if they were still single- they could try again. Minji thought that was the worst idea they could've had.

Time proved the blonde was right. Her relationship with Siyeon became obviously awkward the moment they tried to have a  _ friendly _ status, but none of them tried to get back together.

Did she even get over her as years went by? Absolutely not. 

“ _ I’m sorry if I sounded rude, by the way.” _ Minji says, feeling guilty about Bora’s silence.  _ “You must be tired.” _

Hell yes, she is.

Bora drinks. “I don’t think she wants to see me.” She says, without a hint of hope in her voice

Minji chuckles, tiredly.  _ “Trust me, an explanation is always welcome.” _

The brunette sits on the couch, groaning at the back pain she drags from the flight. “I guess…”

_ “Listen, get some sleep. Relax. You’ll see things differently in the morning, alright?” _

“I panicked so hard when I saw her, Minji.” Bora talks, hearing her friend’s soft sigh to let her know she’s willing to listen to her point of view this time. “Seeing her there… I don’t know, it kinda reminded me of when we were together. I don’t know how to explain, I don’t…” She puffs, she hates repeating herself when she’s trying to expose her feelings out loud.

_ “It’s okay.” _ Minji sounds sincere.  _ “I get it.” _

“I was over her, I swear I was.” She lies. “But then I saw her and… she’s… Siyeon.”

She hears Minji letting out a little giggle. It will never be not funny how Bora can be the most forward person and yet so clumsy.

_ “ _ I know, it’s embarrassing.” She yawns as she leans on the couch. Her head hurts.

_ “It’s not. Well, maybe a bit.”  _ She laughs when she teases her friend. “ _ But seriously, don’t let her think wrong of you.” _ _   
  
_

“Yeah, yeah… I’ll text her.” Bora sighs.

“ _ Did you go there hoping to see her?”  _ Minji sounds sweet and understanding.

“I… I don't know. I guess. Anyways it was stupid and I'm tired and you're probably tired too.” She yawns, hearing an affirmation hum from her friend. “See you tomorrow at the office.”

_ “Sure, rest well!” _

After sharing several goodnight wishes, they end the call.

If she was tired before, now Bora feels her body so heavy she can’t even get up from the couch.

She unlocks her phone, sighing as she opens Instagram. On the search bar, Siyeon’s user shows first. She clicks and opens the first selfie.

She misses her. She misses her so much it hurts. And she feels stupid for it. Because if she had a minimal hope to make amends on her return, it has vanished completely after her brief visit to the comic shop.

* * *

Siyeon holds her breath when her finger almost slips to the like button. She’s been scrolling through Bora’s media for the last hour, since Yoohyeon fell asleep in her arms.

Her ex has been less active in the last year, which makes Siyeon wonder if she has new accounts.

A long sigh leaves her lips, and she hopes it doesn't wake up the other woman.

She loves how calm Yoohyeon looks while sleeping, her parted lips look even cuter when they whisper random words from her dreams. Sometimes, Siyeon wishes she would speak louder. She's willing to tease her with a diary filled with her sleepy quotes.

She puts a tuck of her silver hair behind her ear to get a better view. Her facial features are only illuminated by the screen light, but even like that Siyeon can appreciate how tired her friend looks.

It's not like it doesn't surprise her, either. If she goes to sleep at 2 am, Yoohyeon would go at 4.

The black haired smirks. Maybe it's the first day in weeks she's fallen asleep so early.

_ I should rant about my ex everyday.  _ She jokes to herself, which is a huge mistake. The peaceful mental picture of Yoohyeon’s sleepy pout is replaced by Bora’s gorgeous smile. 

The moment Siyeon fears the most comes, a wave of memories fill her mind until it's so overwhelming her eyes start tearing up.

How can she miss so much someone who hasn't been in her life for four years? She feels pathetic having feelings for a ghost when she has the most wonderful woman in the world living in the same apartment.

She dreams to be happy with her, to date her, to get in her bed. But she can't. She can't do that to her while she still has feelings for another woman. Because, what if Yoohyeon isn't meant to be? What if she's just another heartbreak? No, she can't go through that again. 

With a sigh, she gets comfortable in bed, cuddling her friend and placing a soft kiss on her cheek that causes the other woman to turn in bed. Now Siyeon spoons her, promising to herself she won't lose the hug for the rest of the night.

Fortune doesn't smile on her, though. Her phone buzzes right when she's about to fall asleep. She instantly looks at Yoohyeon, worried, and checks if she has woken up. The younger woman sleeps as peacefully as a baby.  _ Good, _ she thinks as she sighs in relief.

She turns in bed, careful not to bother her bed company and unlocks the phone. 

A message pops up on the screen.

**Bora**

_ Hey… _

_ It's me _

_ I'm sorry for earlier _

_ And I'm sorry for not telling you I was coming back _

_ Would you like to meet someday? _

_ [Deleted message] _

_ I'd really like to start over _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was brave, Bora. What will Siyeon reply (if she does)?
> 
> Btw I guess we'll see for the next update when Odd Eye will be already out so don't forget to stream!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter user: @radicalmomocist
> 
> Here's my **[curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/radicalmomocist)**
> 
> If you like what I write and feel like buying me a coffee or a commission, you can do it **[here](https://ko-fi.com/radicalmomocist)** <3


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